


Security Helmet

by soupscreens



Category: HLVRAI - Fandom, Half-Life VR But The AI Is Self Aware
Genre: Benrey cares a lot about Gordon, G/T, Gen, He/Themrey, Panic Attacks, Sunkist (mentioned) - Freeform, Tommy Coolatta (mentioned) - Freeform, benrey's probably a bit ooc, borrower au, i also just speedwrote this so sorry for any small mistakes!, wanted to have a more serious yet comforting tone to this
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-12
Updated: 2020-09-12
Packaged: 2021-03-06 20:13:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,082
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26414710
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/soupscreens/pseuds/soupscreens
Summary: Benrey worries a bit whenever Gordon's quiet around the house. Upon finding him Benrey's at a loss of what to do, and they struggle to find a way to comfort their friend. An idea comes to mind, but they aren't sure if it's enough to calm the borrower down.Benrey uses he/they pronouns in this work!
Comments: 12
Kudos: 94





	Security Helmet

It had been a bit since Benrey had heard the, what they would consider now common, scurrying on the wooden tiles around the house. It was mildly concerning to them, Gordon was always leaping around, loudly proclaiming that he could do things on his own. But it was silent, and they didn’t like that. After a few more minutes of thought, he tried to turn his thoughts to food. Gordon would be fine. He was strong. “He probably just exhausted himself from all of his funky little hopping,” Benrey joked to himself. 

But the silence continued to be deafening. Benrey was becoming hyperaware of the sounds that they were making. It wasn’t that bothering, but it was the fact that any sound he had silently hoped was Gordon resurfacing to offer his morning grumbles before waving Benrey off to sleep. They tried to focus on food, but the more they thought about it the more they felt sick.

Was Gordon okay? 

The thought kept surfacing before Benrey ultimately abandoned the cereal to go search around the house. They first went to check Tommy’s bedroom. While reluctant to invade the man’s privacy while he was away for work, Benrey was too set on finding the whereabouts of the borrower that shared their home. Needless to say, Gordon wasn’t there, and Benrey returned to the living room to search. They couldn’t hear or see anything, and their heart was beginning to pound. 

As he began to go check the spare room, a muffled sob just caught their attention. It sounded like it was coming from. . . their room? Benrey quickly backtracked and threw the door open. Eyes quickly scanned the room before landing on the nightstand by their bed. The sight had them frozen. “Peetman?” They could see the borrower was clamping his hands over his ears, and the small tail he had was curled tightly around his body. Benrey found it in himself to walk again, nearing the stand in only a few steps.

They crouched and tried to examine Gordon. “Hey uh, Peetman? Earth to Peetman? You uh good there?” They asked, reaching out a hand. 

Gordon’s reaction was instantaneous, he jerked his entire body away, retracting far from Benrey.

Benrey jerked their hand back and stumbled a few steps back, almost falling backward. Their eyes widened in shock at the way Gordon flinched away from them. “I. . .” Benrey started to speak but the sentence died in his throat as he watched Gordon tremble and roll to face away from him. 

Benrey stared quietly down at the borrower. The reaction was akin to whenever they first met, except instead of crying that time, Gordon stood with mock strength as he drew his needle. The sight in front of them was similar but still different. Gordon never acted like this. 

What… What _happened_?

He knelt down and watched as Gordon’s form trembled as his curled in tighter on himself. His body was shuddering as he took deep, shaky gasps for air. Their mind spun for a few moments before it clicked. This was just like what Tommy would do when he was feeling overwhelmed. The only thing was, Benrey had never exactly helped in those situations. Sunkist was always by Tommy’s side, and the dog always seemed keen on keeping people away from him. 

What the hell were they supposed to do in this situation?

It was clear Gordon didn’t seem happy with being touched, and he seemed uncomfortable with the sounds that Benrey had been making. The sweet voice may calm him, but he wasn’t sure if it was safe in this situation. So what could he _do_?

Benrey was capable of a lot of things. He could become the most threatening being in existence. They could physically protect their friends from any harm. They couldn’t die. But, he didn’t know how to help their friend in this state. Of everything that they didn’t have much knowledge on, why did it have to be _this_?

Silently they pressed their signature helmet against their head. 

An idea popped into their head, and they instinctively tugged at their security helmet and inhaled sharply. “Would it make him feel safer?” They thought, peering down at the tiny man in front of him. With a few deep moments of thought, 

With a deep breath, they began to pry the helmet off, their arms were shaky as it left their head. Messy black hair obscured his view until he brushed it out of his face. “I uh. Hey Peetman, this helps, me uh. . .” Benrey’s voice trailed off, they felt vulnerable, and everything around them seemed to almost be too much without the comforting pressure of the helmet against their head. With another deep breath followed by a slow exhale, they closed their eyes and whispered. “Maybe, maybe it’ll do the same for you.” 

Slowly, as to not alert Gordon, Benrey gently set the helmet down so that the borrower would be completely shielded from outside view. He stood there for a moment. He was uncomfortable and honestly didn't want to leave the safety of their room. However, they knew they were safe in the house away from others eyes, and Gordon was still the priority. Personally, they often preferred to be alone when things may be going south, but was Gordon different? They felt more inclined to leave the borrower alone. Maybe he might feel a bit safer since he’s smaller.

Slowly, as to not startle Gordon, Benrey shifted and stood. His eyes were still trained on the borrower’s form before he turned and started making his way towards the door.

“Don’t go.”

The voice was hoarse, almost inaudible, but it just reached Benrey’s ears. They froze and quickly spun back around. Gordon’s trembling hand was just visible from under the helmet.

It was reaching out to them. 

With a silent nod, Benrey neared where they had set the helmet over Gordon and sat back down. They rested their head against the wall and kept a close eye on the helmet. Gordon’s hand had retracted back into the shadows, and the sobs had slowly started to subside. It relieved Benrey. The entire situation hadn’t been very ideal for them, but they had helped. They helped calm Gordon down, and even if it was at the expense of his helmet, he was glad. He was glad that they had helped their friend feel safer.

It’s all Benrey had really wanted since meeting Gordon.

They wanted him to feel safe.

**Author's Note:**

> all soup knows how to do is project onto borrower!gordon and write comfort borrower fics instead of doing late homework assignments //sparkles  
> i wrote this in two goes, and didn't really have the energy to check for mistakes, but i do hope that you like this ! it's an idea that came to me when i woke up in the middle of the night, and i finally got onto writing!


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